AI tech leaders are stumbling over themselves to kiss the ring of newly-minted president Donald Trump. Earlier this week, Trump announced a $500 billion AI infrastructure deal, a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and UAE-backed investor MGX. The companies involved in the project, dubbed “Stargate,” are committing a combined $100 billion, with the plan to ratchet that up to a full half trillion over the next four years. Noticeably absent from the ranks is xAI, which was started by Trump’s tight confidante Elon Musk, who subsequently blasted the participants for not “actually” having the money to invest. OpenAI Sam Altman, however, has since shot back, prolonging a years-long feud between the two dramatic billionaires. “Wrong, as you surely know,” Altman wrote. “Want to come visit the first site already under way?” “This is great for the country,” he added. “I realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you’ll mostly put [America] first.” It doesn’t take much reading between the lines to suggest Musk is feeling left out by the deal. He and Altman have been caught up in a bitter rivalry that started years after they cofounded OpenAI together, with Musk later departing the project under a dark cloud. Could the latest kerfuffle be a sign of what’s still to come? How will Trump contain the “Succession”-like squabbling between the two tech billionaires while fuelling his latest infrastructure project? Where does Stargate leave his own close…Sam Altman Blasts Elon Musk for Defying Donald Trump's AI Deal